It doesn’t really matter how you feel or why you’re moving to France because moving to this country brings a few challenges and a lot of opportunities.

What are the challenges and opportunities that might come my way? You ask!

You’re likely to find an answer to that question at the next Bloom Where You’re Planted in October.

Bloom Where You're Planted has been a ministry of hospitality and outreach to the English-speaking community of Paris for 50 years. It shares the love of the City of Light with newcomers, by providing helpful information that will ease that stressful period of transition.

Bloom Where You’re Planted offers a variety of seminars with dynamic speakers who provide helpful information on various topics including taxes and real estate, the French work culture, shopping, cooking, health care, education, raising a family, and sports and recreation.

The purpose of this event isn’t to make money but to help any newcomer (longtime expats as well) to bloom where they’re planted, in this case, Paris.

Bloom Where You're Planted was started by Paris-based expat women from the American Church in Paris almost 50 years ago. As “trailing spouses”, they had followed their husbands to France as part of job relocations. Without support structure of family and friends in this unknown French culture, the women began to lean on one another to find encouragement, help and fellowship. Their desire to reach out to other english speaking expat women eventually developed into the orientation program that has served approximately five thousand men and women over the years.

While the Bloom program remains a non profit and non religious outreach program of the American Church in Paris that’s run by volunteers, it has evolved with the changing expat community. Back in the days, before the internet, when information was way too hard to obtain, Bloom was the “go-to” resource for just about anything a person might want to know when moving to Paris.

In the early years, this program was spread over three-half days with 300 women participating. The program included sensible topics like how to tie a scarf, where to shop for antiques, and what museums where a “must-see”.

Before it became the premier source of information for English-speaking expats in France, Bloom went through a lot of phases including the first Bloom Where You Work in 2000. This program helped people learn about visas and regulations for starting their own businesses. In the year 2010, the work program got merged with the original Bloom program. The current Bloom Where You're Planted now hosts more than 300 people once a year and serves men, women and children.

The range of content provided has completely changed and now includes banking, buying and renting real estate, cooking, raising and educating children, the healthcare system and a lot more. The bloom team is composed of more than 80 volunteers ready to answer questions, give their own special tips and help the attendees network and form long lasting friendships - All this is offered in a one-day event to meet the needs of busy society.

During the past editions, participants used to get bags full of swags and a really beautiful book called Bloom Where You’re Planted; Tips for living in France. And indeed, this book was full of insights related to cultural adjustment, relocation advice, daily life in France, financial and legal information, transportation, Culture and entertainment, food and cooking, and most importantly an entire page full of emergency phone numbers & vocabularies of French expressions related to the word “urgent”.

Bloom Where You’re Planted 2016— Saturday 8 October, from 9h-18h

The 2016 edition of Bloom Where You’re Planted will be held in October and will feature talks by expert speakers such as Grace Wong-Folliet, Entrepreneure and Founder of Inspirelle.com and workshops on various topics from food and wine tasting to health care and general safety, need-to-know subjects, and just plain fun facts about France.

We’ll see you there.

For the very first time since the creation of Expats Paris, we’re excited and getting ready to meet you all at this year’s Bloom. We’ll be in the exhibition hall. Don’t hesitate to pass by and get some info about us and the entire Expats Paris community.